Teachers turn down contract proposal

An 11th-hour contract proposal by Havre Public Schools was rejected by the local teachers union late Thursday following four hours of negotiations. Union representatives said the proposal was rejected because the district refused to make two key concessions.

The district refused to reduce the amount of discretionary time required in the current contract. Discretionary time - now set at 45 hours a semester - is time that school administrators can ask teachers to work in addition to their regular hours for duties like mandatory staff meetings. On the second issue, the two parties were unable to...